Joe Wright Creek Update
As Marty mentioned in his earlier post, Carnito Canyon has changed. The old flake boof move is history, and at this weekend’s levels the rapid is generally more challenging. See photos below for a visual.

Big South Wood Update
1) Heads up for wood around the second bend after Double Trouble – we snuck it far right without issues
2) Stay left after Pin Cushion to avoid the barely submerged log. At this weekend’s flow the log was 3″ under water and is sure to come into play as levels drop.
3) As always, watch for random wood placement as flows drop

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Joe Wright: Medium
Big South: High (rock gauge slightly buried under water). Long draw road is still closed.
Spencer Heights: Medium-High (3 on the new gauge)
Little South: Low (70-75 on upper gauge, and 1’3″ on confluence gauge at @ noon)

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We invite you to join us for the premier of Kadoma, a documentary exploring the final expedition of the legendary Hendri Coetzee.

When - Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Location - New Belgium Brewery in Ft. Collins, CO
Time - Doors open at 6:30 PM. Film begins around 7:45 PM.
Tickets - $10 in advance; $12 at the door. A portion of proceeds goes to Save the Poudre.

For tickets contact Rocky Mountain Adventures at 970-493-4005 or info@shoprma.com

After more than a decade exploring Central Africa, Hendri Coetzee is a modern legend in the annals of African exploration. He walked nearly a thousand miles of Tanzanian coastline and led the first team down the entire length of the Nile through war-torn Sudan all the way to the Mediterranean. He returned to kayak solo the most difficult section of the river through the densest populations of hippos and crocodiles found anywhere on the planet.

Calling the Nile’s source at Lake Victoria home, he was well known and loved by the local people. On the eastern side of the river, they called him Kadoma for his bravery in the face of a river they fear and respect greatly. Along the western bank, locals speaking a different dialect call out the same name, but with a different meaning – Kadoma: the little bee that travels and improves lives everywhere it goes.

Solo on the Congo River in 2009, Hendri received an email from American expedition kayaker Ben Stookesberry. “It would be ludicrous,” Hendri said, “to take an American who you don’t know, and who has never been to Africa, into its very heart.” But a year later, he did just that.

Ben’s long-time kayaking partner, Chris Korbulic, joined the group as Hendri led the way from his home on the Nile overland through Rwanda in order to kayak into the heart of the Congo on a previously unnavigated waterway, the Lukuga River. Seven weeks into the expedition, deep in the DRC, tragedy struck as a monstrous African crocodile silently surfaced and pulled Hendri underwater, never to be seen again.

On Hendri’s final expedition, he takes us on a journey of mind and heart through parts of Africa seldom seen, where his own words will always ring true: “Some of the things that we’re about to witness are so intense and horrible that they should stop the show, “Hendri said, “but they don’t. People still laugh and dance. Yes the bad things happen, but so do the good things, the amazing things, and the show goes on.”

Tell the State of Colorado that destroying the Poudre River is not an economic development strategy!

Please Help — Just 3 Days To Go! Please take a minute to sign the petition.

Governor Hickenlooper launched a “Bottom Up” economic development process for Colorado in early 2011. Unfortunately, the public process was subverted in northern Colorado — without any public input at all, biased insiders in Larimer County inserted “Supporting NISP” (an extremely controversial proposed dam and reservoir project on the Poudre River) as one of the economic development strategies that the Governor should support! Read about this nonsense here.

We now have just 3 days to generate comments and input to the State to let them know that NISP is a terrible economic development strategy for northern Colorado. In fact, NISP would drain and destroy the Poudre River whereas alternatives to NISP could enhance both the river and economy. Read more here.

Please sign the petition today! NISP is not an economic development strategy — NISP will destroy the Poudre River and its economic value!

THIS FRIDAY

Friday May 6^th – Avogadro’s Back Patio, Doors open 6:30, Films start 7:45

605 S. Mason, Fort Collins

$10 at the door includes a free New Belgium beer.

Join us for happy hour at 6:30 on the back patio for a great line-up of kayak movies: Halo Effect, paddling down waterfalls in remote Iceland & Norway andWildWater, a beautiful compilation of kayaking across the world. Plus short films of our own local paddlers on the Poudre River. Silent Auction with cool stuff from OtterBox, Astral Buoyancy, Level Six, Funkwerks Brewery, and Equinox Brewery and more…. All proceeds to benefit Save the Poudre®.

Halo Effect Teaser from thefishmunga

WildWater North Fork Payette Teaser from Anson Fogel.

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I was asked by Marty to see if I could dig back 28 years in to the depths of my memory to remember what the Poudre was like in that record year, 1983.
It was my 4th season on the Poudre. I just had just got done with a big water run of the Grand and got back to Colorado and it was raging. A run down Shoshone, by Glenwood, on the way home was like running Hermit. However it was still May and the best was yet to come: the highest recorded flows on the Poudre 6/21/1983 5970 cfs.

What that translated to was some of the greatest high water romps on the Poudre I have ever had. The Rustic Runs actually had eddies, while you couldn’t even run the Bridges because the Gray Rock bridge was under water. (They have since raised the bridge, it still may be tight at peak flows this year)

Below 3 way (Split rock) The high water mark was up to the middle of the lane. On the straight below you could look the passengers in car driving by right in the eye as you were bobbing along.

Upper Mish was stomping with nary an eddy and all the rocks in the entrance to Mish Falls were covered some of which where large nasty holes, followed by some river wide ledge wave holes.

We ran sections of Spencer Heights but we didn’t do the whole thing most of us put in at the picnic area where the Laramie River Tunnel comes in. A friend of mine put in a couple of drops above that and had the ride of his life.

I, being the wimp that I am, put in at the picnic area and immediately got stuck in a hole but managed to work my way out. Yes that’s a glass boat, designed by a guy in Boulder that use to have a kayak store. It incorporated the worst parts of several different designs all into one boat. The net result was I had no choice but to get better or give up boating. It was very hard to roll, liked to fall over backwards, couldn’t pass a hole without getting stuck, and was much happier upside down than right side up. He named it the Porpoise a friend of mine named it the Platypus, a much more accurate moniker.

There were even a few brave souls who ran the Lower Narrows. I remember looking at it and thinking “Ya there’s the line”! Then I saw a full size Ponderosa Pine go through and just disappear only to come rocketing out of the river about 30 yards downstream. I took a pass on the Narrows that day.

The South Fork was a series of micro eddies in the willows where the 1st person in to the eddy would grab hold and we’d stack up on them then someone would get out scout down and come back with a report something like this. “Well it’s clear for the next 30 yards then you have to move right to get around a tree then look for the next eddy.” That person had to climb back out over all the boats stacked up and got to go find the next eddy.

Even the Filter Plant was stomp’n. There were great big surfing waves and a couple of holes you could play in.

However the main thing I remember about 1983 was that the fun rock was covered for about 3 weeks, the boating seem to last until September and I had a great summer. So if this season measures up to even close to ’83 it will be an outstanding season for boating. Have fun, it may not come around for another 28 years.

What’s happened?

Although Larimer County representatives have expressed enthusiasm for the idea of building a kayak park, they do not see a way forward at this time – they have put the proposal in the “too hard” basket.

The main reasons given are – the County is broke (staff time and money), the Colorado Division of Wildlife has not supported the idea, one adjacent landowner is not enthusiastic, there is concern about the possible impact of the proposed Northern Integrated Supply Project (NISP; including Glade Reservoir), and they seem to believe that getting FEMA approval would be very expensive (they estimate $150,000).

I don’t believe any of these issues need to be stoppers. With a “can do” mindset, we could generate solutions to each of them that would be acceptable to all parties involved.

Here is more information:

1. The Colorado Division of Wildlife (a majority landowner of Lions Park) does not support the proposal to build a whitewater park and enhance the fish habitat. They are proffering the opinion that:
   • To build or support kayakable whitewater features would be inconsistent with their mission to support the fishing folks and hunters (whose license fees fund the CDOW). They assert: “more kayakers = fewer fishermen and women and reduced quality of fishing experience.” I don’t believe that everyone at the CDOW holds this view, but enough do at the moment to oppose out proposal.
   • In this particular instance, where they actually own the land, (which was purchased in support of their mission with money earmarked for that) it seems particularly inappropriate.
   • They have not yet embraced the reality that kayakers and fishing folks really want very similar things in terms of river flows and should be combining forces to protect rivers for kayaking AND fishing – i.e., what is good for kayakers is good for fish.
   • If it was to be built on land that DID NOT belong to the CDOW, they would still:
2. Need to see a design that was genuinely fish friendly (we should all care about this)
3. Be concerned about who was responsible to maintain it in the long term.

The CDOW fish biologist with whom I spoke acknowledges that this section of the Poudre River (at Lions Park) is degraded from a fish habitat perspective and could benefit from some improvements. Colorado State University professor, Boris Kondratieff, said that the best thing that could be done for the invertebrates and fish would be to move away from the “toilet flush hydrologic regime” back to a more natural regime with more persistent flows and proper peaks… i.e. stop turning the river on and off, especially in the fall. More consistently connected pools would be good for both fish food species and fish.

I have been told that the CDOW would like the County to purchase this land from them, but of course the County does not currently have the resources to try to make that happen (either staff time or funds). We might be able to help them with this.

1. The Colorado Division of Wildlife does not own all of the land comprising Lions Park, the area downstream from the middle of the parking lot to the bridge is owned by two private landowners (both of whom have written letters of support for a whitewater play park) and the City of Fort Collins. The Larimer County Open Space Program leases the land from the CDOW (for a nominal fee) and manages it as a trailhead for Pleasant Valley Trail and the Poudre River Trail, which connect at the Park. I’ve heard that this lease is due for review in 2016, and so is the current management plan.
2. Although the Larimer County Open Space Advisory Board did, somewhat halfheartedly, agree to review their management plan for the park earlier than scheduled to consider adding kayaking to the plan, I understand they are now backing away from this commitment.
3. Greely is constructing a pipeline with which they intend to divert a large volume of water (through a pipe paralleling the river) from the Canyon mouth to Greeley. They have not completed construction of this pipe and, I understand, have not yet received permission from the Army Corps of Engineers to connect the pipeline to the river at their treatment plant at the Canyon mouth. They should not be allowed to do this. They should be required to minimize their impact on the river by extracting their deeded water at Greeley and treating it there, thereby allowing this significant volume of water to do all sorts of good things (like lubricate a kayak park) on its natural course to Greeley.
4. NISP keeps rearing its ugly head as an obstacle to a kayak park, in Fort Collins, and now in LaPorte. There are considerable differences in opinions about the projected impacts of NISP, should it be approved and constructed.

Some people are of the opinion that peak flows would be considerably diminished (to the detriment of the river) and that the June rise would be shortened by up to 6 weeks by extraction of uncommitted ‘free’ flows. Even with this scenario, I believe we could design and build a whitewater park that was worth the effort. A more optimistic view is that the reduction in peak flows would be less ‘noticeable’ and that the duration of the June rise would not be reduced, and that a deal might be struck for higher base flows for the remainder of the year. A representative of NISP even suggested that they might be able to “help us build a kayak park” by channeling some of their “mitigation efforts” to that stretch of river. Go figure.

What can we do?

1. Try not to get too disheartened.
2. Form a recognizable group whose mission is to get whitewater play features on the Poudre River. At almost every meeting with public agencies, I am asked if there is a group spearheading this action – I try to explain that, with the exception of the Poudre Paddlers and the Colorado WhiteWater Association, kayakers are relatively solitary folks who paddle with a few friends at a time. I think this weakens our case. I think it would be of value to form a group dedicated to whitewater recreation on the Poudre River (its voice might be strengthened if it had members who were not only kayakers, but also canoeists, fishermen and women, etc. It might be called something like Poudre River Players – ideas welcome!!) And I will be out of the country for a block of time, so I will be out of action for a while.
3. Figure out a way to help the CDOW transfer the Lions Park land ownership to Larimer County if both parties are willing.
4. Use modeling to present a credible flow regime if NISP is constructed and the Greeley pipeline becomes a functioning reality.
5. I think it would be of great value if we could formulate a design. It is very easy for people to reject an idea when we are talking in generalities. The County representative I spoke with was concerned that something designed for the current flow regime might not work in the presence of NISP – I was trying to explain that features designed for the current range of 0-4000 cfs or so would likely be optimized for lowish flows anyway. If we could get suitably skilled volunteers to survey the site, model the flows and generate an approximate design, this would help us all negotiate on the same page.

Sorry I don’t have better news.

Mandy
970-224-4549

http://www.poudrerockreport.com/play-parks/laporte/

Mandy Kotzman has put a great deal of time and energy towards building a whitewater play park on the Poudre River, in LaPorte. The proposal is gaining traction with the city, but requires community support before it can become a reality.

If you are in favor of a play park in the Fort Collins/LaPorte area, we are asking that you please follow the link above and send in a Letter of Support.

Thanks in advance for your support!

Holding steady the Rock shows a low .9 or a high .8- either way it’s pretty close to the bar at 4. Currently 65.3F, sunny and breezy. Expect the high to reach 84F with a slight chance for rain. Lower N Fork down to 520 cfs.

One more day of the Poudre Canyon VFD cookout at Ted’s Pl. Bring your appetite and enjoy a La Luz Breakfast Burrito, a Boulder Brat or a huge burger! All proceeds help the Canyon VFD help you in a time of need! Enjoy the Riv.

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Upper Canyon Flow Updates

Joe Wright: Medium-high, down a touch from yesterday. Watch for wood blocking the channel below Carnito.

Spencer Heights: Medium and clean

Big South: 3rd mark from the top on the rock gauge